Crime, police and courts
82 upcoming changes, soonest first.
October 2026 1
Diphenidine, a dissociative street drug, becomes a Schedule I controlled substance
Diphenidine and its salts and isomers join Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Anyone who makes, sells, imports, researches or possesses it needs a Schedule I registration or must give up their supply.
January 2027 75
A conviction for altering a gun's serial number brings a 10-year gun ban
People convicted of altering, removing or obliterating a firearm's maker name, model or serial number, or of handling such a gun, may not own, buy or possess any firearm for 10 years after the conviction.
A third DUI within 10 years can now be charged as a felony
A DUI after two prior DUI convictions in 10 years, once a misdemeanor, can now be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony with 16 months, 2 or 3 years in county jail. With four or more priors, a DUI is now always a felony.
Approaching worshippers within 8 feet to protest near a house of worship is a crime
Within 100 feet of a house of worship's entrances or exits, no one may come within 8 feet of anyone going in or out, without consent, to leaflet, protest, show signs or harass. First offenses carry up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
Arbitration deals that federal law won't enforce are unenforceable under California law too
A written arbitration agreement is not enforceable under California's arbitration law when the Federal Arbitration Act does not enforce it, such as for sexual harassment or sexual assault claims and for seamen, railroad and other interstate transportation workers.
Assault or battery on an on-duty utility infrastructure worker can bring up to a year in jail
Assault or battery on a utility worker building, installing, maintaining or repairing water, power or gas infrastructure can bring up to one year in county jail, a $2,000 fine, or both, if the attacker knows or should know the victim's role. Contractors count too.
Assignees must name the original party in the case title of their first court filing
When someone takes over another party's rights in a California civil case by assignment, the first document they file must name the assignor, the original real party in interest, in the title of the case.
Attorney General must investigate fatal immigration officer shootings of unarmed people
The Attorney General must investigate any shooting by an immigration enforcement officer that kills an unarmed civilian, may prosecute the officer for breaking state law, and must post each written report online.
Attorney General's reviews of immigration detention centers no longer expire
The Attorney General's reviews of county, local and private locked facilities holding people in civil immigration cases were set to end, and now continue with no end date. The reviews no longer have to cover how each person was arrested and transferred.
California courts and tech firms can't aid probes of First Amendment activity
Exercising First Amendment rights joins protected health care on the list of activities California courts can't issue wiretap, pen register or search orders to investigate. California tech companies also can't hand over records for such probes under federal court orders, not just other states'.
California's ban on masked police now covers state agency peace officers
The crime of police wearing face coverings on duty now applies to peace officers of state agencies, not only local and federal ones. Sunglasses and similar items are allowed unless combined to hide identity, and agencies have until the date shown to post a mask policy.
Certified deposition transcripts can be sent to attorneys electronically
Court reporters may now send a certified deposition transcript to the noticing attorney as an encrypted electronic file, instead of a sealed envelope, if that attorney asks. The file must show it is authentic and unaltered, and courts may accept it as the original.
Child sexual exploitation law now covers downloading, streaming and AI-made images
The crime of sexual exploitation of a child, which covered making, copying or exchanging images of minors in sexual conduct, now also covers knowingly downloading, streaming or accessing them, including digitally altered or AI-generated images. Mandated reporters' definition of sexual exploitation adds the same images.
Cities and counties can't approve new privately run detention centers
Cities and counties, including charter cities, may not approve a new land use for building a detention facility or a change of use that turns an existing building into one. The ban covers facilities run by private companies for a government agency.
Cities, counties and state agencies can request the state's crime gun trace data
The Justice Department's data on recovered crime guns, used to track where they come from, must be shared on request with any California town, city, county or state agency. UC, Cal State and accredited nonprofit colleges, already allowed to use it for research, are now named.
City attorneys get state criminal records for red light abatement cases
The Attorney General must give state criminal history records to city attorneys and county counsel for cases that now include red light abatement actions against properties used for prostitution. Tribal police from other states may also get records on a showing of compelling need.
Claims against government agencies must include a sworn statement that they're true
Anyone filing a claim for damages against a public entity or public employee must include a declaration that, on information and belief, the contents of the claim are true and correct. Before, the claim only had to be signed.
Combined sheriff-coroner offices can no longer rule on deaths in custody
In counties where the sheriff is also the coroner, the sheriff-coroner may not decide the cause and manner of an in-custody death. The county must contract with an independent coroner, a medical examiner's office or a private examiner separate from the sheriff.
Counties may add a jail administrator, nominated by the sheriff and confirmed by supervisors
A county board of supervisors may create a jail administrator post to run county jails for three-year terms. The sheriff nominates the candidate, the board confirms after a public hearing, and the sheriff keeps power to direct, discipline or remove the administrator.
Court clerks must send all of a grand jury's final reports to the State Archivist within 6 months
Court clerks no longer forward each grand jury final report to the State Archivist right away. They must collect all final reports and responses from a grand jury's term and send them within 6 months after the term ends.
Court filing fee rules for bounced checks now cover card and electronic payments
Court rules for filing fees paid short or by a bounced check, including a notice, an administrative charge and 20 days to pay before the filing is voided, now cover card, electronic transfer and other approved payments. Clerks refund e-filing providers whose fees stay unpaid.
Courts can add up to a year of probation for registered sex offenders
When the probation department asks and the court finds a person required to register as a sex offender has not finished probation and needs more programming, the judge can extend probation by up to one more year.
Courts can bar convicted abusers from contacting the victim's family members too
When sentencing someone for domestic violence, human trafficking, gang crimes or a registrable sex offense, a court that is considering a no-contact order for the victim may also bar contact with the victim's family or household members.
Courts can't demand notice to the other side before emergency domestic violence orders
Courts may not require that the person to be restrained get advance notice before the court accepts or decides a request for an emergency domestic violence restraining order, or demand an explanation for skipping notice. Court rules and forms that conflict must go.
Courts may weigh military protective orders in domestic violence cases
Judges weighing domestic violence restraining orders may consider a military commander's protective order against the respondent for the same or similar conduct. If officers at a scene hear such an order exists and the victim has no copy, they must check for it.
Courts must weigh a prosecutor's other trial heavily in human trafficking delay requests
In human trafficking cases, judges deciding whether to postpone must give great weight to the assigned prosecutor being busy in another trial, preliminary hearing or motion to suppress. Only one such delay is allowed, for no more than 10 court days.
Dismissed juvenile court cases are treated as if they never happened
When a juvenile court dismisses a petition in the interests of justice, the case is deemed not to have occurred, and the person cannot suffer future harm because of it. A dismissal of a sustained petition also sets aside the findings.
District attorneys get subpoena power to reinvestigate claims of factual innocence
When a district attorney's office formally accepts a claim of factual innocence for review, it may notify the court and treat the case as open, with power to issue subpoenas and file motions. Materials gathered must go to the petitioner within 60 days after the investigation ends.
Elder abuse cases with cognitively impaired victims can get a short delay for busy prosecutors
Felony elder or dependent adult abuse cases with a cognitively impaired victim join cases like murder and domestic violence where a prosecutor tied up in another trial is good cause for a delay, limited to one delay per case of up to 10 court days.
Fresno and San Joaquin jail deputies become peace officers with limited powers
Deputy sheriffs in Fresno and San Joaquin counties hired mainly for jail duty join those in counties such as Butte and Calaveras as peace officers whose powers apply only while doing their custody work or other duties ordered during a local emergency.
Immigration agents with misconduct records barred from California police jobs
California bars hiring as peace officers people from other states or federal agencies who lost their certification for misconduct, or committed serious misconduct that is grounds for decertification here. That rule now expressly covers officers who did immigration enforcement.
Investor-backed legal funders can't control law firms' litigation decisions
A business set up to raise or manage capital that invests in a law practice commits unauthorized practice of law if it controls case decisions, and contracts allowing that are void. Ordinary nonrecourse litigation funding stays legal if it meets set limits.
Juvenile courts must weigh loaded gun charges in deferred judgment decisions
When a juvenile court decides whether a minor is suitable for deferred entry of judgment, it must now consider whether the minor is charged with carrying a loaded firearm in public. Eligibility rules for the program stay the same.
Juvenile probation 12-month limit now covers youth in out-of-home placements
Wards placed in out-of-home settings under probation supervision are no longer exempt from the 12-month limit on juvenile probation. Courts may also keep jurisdiction past it to finish required transition steps, but without probation conditions; youth committed to secure treatment facilities stay excluded.
Lawyers can't charge clients interest on loans; steep penalties for case runners
Attorneys who lend or advance clients money need a separate written contract listing the amount, terms and fees, and may not charge interest, or face a $15,000 penalty. Lawyer runners and cappers face $25,000 penalties, and retaliating against people who report lawyer misconduct is banned.
Lawyers may not hand legal work to AI and must check every citation it produces
Attorneys may not delegate the practice of law to generative AI, must keep confidential client data out of AI systems others can access, and must verify AI output and tell the court they used it. Arbitrators may not let AI decide cases.
Longer prison terms for hit-and-run drivers with a recent DUI conviction
Drivers who flee an injury crash within 10 years of a DUI, alcohol-related reckless driving or vehicular manslaughter conviction can get two to four years in state prison. If the crash kills or badly hurts someone, the prison range rises to three to five years.
Malpractice suits against outdoor-space architects and geologists need an expert certificate
Lawyers suing architects licensed for outdoor spaces, geologists or geophysicists for professional negligence must file a certificate that an expert found the case meritorious, as already required for architects, engineers and surveyors. The expert consulted must be licensed in California, not just any state.
Many criminal court fees repealed and unpaid balances wiped out
Many fees tied to criminal cases, such as charges for court-ordered community service, house arrest, jail medical care and traffic fine payment plans, are repealed, and unpaid balances of most can no longer be collected. People sentenced to prison or jail owe no trial court fees for that conviction.
Medical bills from lien-based providers are capped in rideshare crash lawsuits
In crash claims against rideshare and delivery app companies or their drivers, damages for care from lien-based providers are capped at the 70th percentile of local billed charges. Rideshare drivers face more disqualifying convictions and yearly background checks.
Mental health diversion requires a diagnosis or treatment from the past five years
Defendants seeking pretrial mental health diversion must show a mental disorder diagnosis or treatment from the last five years. The court must find they pose no substantial and undue risk to another person's physical safety and must explain any denial on the record.
Money laundering crime now covers crypto, and police can get warrants to seize it
For a trial period, the state money laundering crime covers transactions using digital assets, and police or prosecutors can get warrants to seize crypto from exchanges, custodians or wallets. Prosecutors then have 180 days to start forfeiture, with seized funds going to victims first.
Objections to a judge must be served on the judge at the courthouse during business hours
A party seeking to disqualify a judge must serve the written objection on the judge in person during regular business hours at the courthouse where the judge sits, or on the clerk or the clerk's designee while the judge is present.
Officers and judges may not bar press or public from open court hearings
Judicial officers and police may not keep the press or public out of a courtroom or other place where an open court proceeding is held, except as needed to keep order. Violations may bring civil penalties under the state civil rights law.
Older prisoners convicted of certain sex crimes must wait longer for elderly parole
People sentenced for specified sex crimes, such as child sexual assault or crimes with several victims, qualify for elderly parole only at 65 after 25 years served, instead of 50 after 20. Their previously scheduled elderly parole hearings are canceled and their dates recalculated.
Organized theft of metal from utility and railroad property becomes its own crime
Working with others to steal, receive or possess metal taken from utility, railroad and similar infrastructure covered by metal theft laws, or organizing thefts, is organized metal theft. Organizers, and anyone with two or more offenses in 12 months totaling over $950, risk felony charges.
Parole mental health commitment must weigh a prisoner's illness-related violence
When judging whether a prisoner with a severe mental health disorder is a substantial danger to others, evaluators must consider, among other things, any history of violence tied to the disorder. Courts may hold challenge hearings in the county of commitment if all sides agree.
Penalties for blocking attorney visits cover prisoners held in hospitals
The law already punishes an officer who refuses to let an attorney visit a prisoner. It now spells out that this covers prisoners held in a jail, prison, hospital or other medical setting: a misdemeanor, plus $500 owed to the person harmed.
Penalty for filing a false lien or lawsuit to harass someone triples to $15,000
Knowingly filing a false lawsuit, lien or other encumbrance to harass someone carries a civil penalty of up to $15,000, up from $5,000, and liens include financing statements. People named in an unauthorized financing statement can file an affidavit to have it terminated.
People in civil suits can screen their medical records before the other side gets them
If all parties agree, a person whose medical and personal records are sought in a civil suit can review them for privacy and relevance first. Lawyers who refer a potential client while actively representing clients, in certain cases, are not a lawyer referral service.
People who sue to stop public university student housing may have to post a bond
Courts may order people who sue to block student housing owned by a public university to post a bond covering delay costs, if the suit appears meritless and brought in bad faith or to delay. The rule already covered affordable housing projects.
Police and sheriffs must adopt written policies for serving gun-related restraining orders
City police, sheriffs, the Highway Patrol and UC and Cal State police must adopt written policies for serving and enforcing protective and restraining orders that limit firearm access, including a standard process for serving the restrained person on time.
Police can't block or delay medical care for people in their control
Officers may not deny, delay or obstruct medical evaluation or treatment for someone under their control, other than state prison inmates, when it is safe and a medical professional has been called or is there and willing to help. Denials when a medic is present must be documented within 72 hours.
Police can't use undercover agents to question people held for crimes done as minors
Undercover officers and police agents may not seek statements from people in custody under 26 who were 17 or younger at the time of the crime. Courts must weigh willful violations in judging officer credibility. Questions to stop an imminent threat to life are exempt.
Police in California, including federal agents, may not use wearable electroshock devices
Law enforcement agencies in California, including federal ones, may not use wearable electroshock devices, and no agency may buy them with state funds. Agencies must add the ban to their use-of-force policies, and the state Justice Department must study the devices.
Posing as a licensed bail agent to solicit bail becomes a crime
Pretending to be a licensed bail agent while soliciting bail, by phone, text, email or in person, is a crime carrying the bail law's penalties. So is hiring someone to solicit bail when the hirer knew or should have known they were posing as one.
Prisons can't unreasonably limit hugs, hand holding and other touch during visits
State prison visiting rules may not unreasonably restrict nonsexual contact such as hugs, hand holding, holding one's children and brief kisses. Before ending a visit or writing up a minor contact violation, staff must give a clear warning and a chance to stop.
Private detention facility stores capped at a 35% markup over vendor cost
Commissaries at privately run, for-profit detention facilities, including online stores and contractor-run canteens, may not sell any item for more than 35% above what was paid to the vendor.
Process servers must try three times and add photos and GPS to eviction service proof
Servers must try personal delivery three times, on different days and times, before leaving papers with someone else. Eviction service proofs need a photo with a GPS time stamp, county server registers become public, and people not properly served can ask to undo a default.
Program giving some tribal police state peace officer powers becomes permanent
The program that lets officers from up to three federally recognized tribes act as California peace officers, which was set to end, now has no end date and drops pilot from its name. It runs only if the Legislature funds it.
Prosecutors may seek adult court for some youths resentenced into juvenile court
Prosecutors may ask to move a case back to adult criminal court when someone charged with certain serious offenses committed at 14 or 15 was convicted as an adult and is now being resentenced in juvenile court. The juvenile court decides after a probation report.
Prosecutors must explain skipping charges that block mental health diversion
If the facts support an uncharged crime that bars mental health diversion, prosecutors must say on the record why and whether they consulted the victim. If the Justice Department finds an elected official committed a listed sex crime against a minor and prosecution is appropriate, it must charge within 30 days.
Rape shield rules now apply to sex crime cases from jails and prisons
In sex crime prosecutions, the limits on using a victim's sexual history, both the hearing needed to attack their credibility with it and the ban on using it to prove consent, now also apply when the offense happened in a jail or prison.
Released sexually violent predators can't be placed within a quarter mile of day care
For people with a history of sexual misconduct with children, conditional release placements can't be within a quarter mile of a day care center, on top of the existing school limit. A day care or private school opening later doesn't break an existing placement.
Rented vehicles used by police to arrest or transport people must carry agency decals
Privately owned vehicles rented or furnished to any federal, state or local law enforcement agency for detaining, arresting or transporting people must show a temporary decal with the agency's name and logo on the front doors. Exceptions cover undercover, plainclothes, SWAT and emergency use.
Repeat sexual battery, indecent exposure and child molesting cases can be tried in one county
When sexual battery, indecent exposure, or annoying or molesting a child happens more than once across counties, all counts can be tried where any one occurred, even with different victims, if every district attorney involved agrees in writing.
Sexual battery after entering a home without consent can be charged as a felony
Sexual battery committed after entering an occupied home, trailer or the lived-in part of a building without consent can bring two to four years in state prison and up to $10,000, or up to a year in county jail and $5,000. Before, simple sexual battery was always a misdemeanor.
Small claims and limited civil filing fee tiers rise to cover bigger claims
The $50 small claims filing fee now covers claims up to $6,250, up from $5,000, with $75 above that. The $205 civil filing fee applies to cases asking for $12,500 or less, up from $10,000.
State hospitals must study transitional housing for released sexually violent predators
The State Department of State Hospitals must analyze whether transitional housing facilities for people on conditional release as sexually violent predators are feasible and beneficial, and report its findings to the Legislature.
State missing persons DNA database now covers unidentified living people too
The state Justice Department's DNA database must be used for every unidentified person, living or dead, instead of focusing on deceased and high-risk missing persons. DNA from living people may be kept when found remains are incomplete and more may turn up.
Threats against local election officials can bring a harsher felony sentence
When sentencing someone for a felony criminal threat, a judge can treat it as an aggravating factor that the person knowingly threatened a city, county or district elections official or an elected local official. That already applied to threats against state officers, legislators and judges.
Tobacco sellers can't make any sale of cannabis at sites where tobacco is stored or sold
At any site where cigarettes or tobacco are stored or sold, tobacco businesses may not make any sale of cannabis or products presumed to contain it, not only retail sales, and tax officials can seize those products. Pure CBN isolate later stops counting as cannabis concentrate under drug law.
Vehicles of owners with repeat unpaid illegal dumping notices can be booted
Police and code enforcement may boot a car whose owner has five or more delinquent illegal dumping notices, or two for commercial dumping. It comes off with ID, a California address and proof of payment, bail or a payment plan; mistaken boots can be reviewed.
Violating a protective order tied to a felony charge can now be a felony
A willful violation of a criminal protective order can be a felony if the person faced a felony charge or conviction for the conduct behind it, unless that charge was reduced or dropped. Repeat violations within seven years involving violence or credible threats are felonies.
Wage theft and labor trafficking can be prosecuted where the worker lived or worked
Prosecutors may now bring wage theft and labor trafficking cases in the county where the victim lived, where the job contract was made, where any of the work was done or where the business was located.
Youth in juvenile facilities gain a right to hug and hold hands with visitors
Youth held in juvenile facilities have a right to consensual, appropriate physical contact with visitors, including hugs at the start and end of a visit and holding hands. Facilities may limit it only for a significant safety or security concern and must document why.
July 2027 3
Corrections department must set rules to refer prison firefighters for resentencing
The corrections department must adopt rules for referring conservation camp firefighters, former camp firefighters still in custody, and prison firehouse workers for resentencing. The rules must allow referrals for people with two or more years left and bar minimum time-served requirements.
Fire agency must certify prison firefighter training and give ex-inmates a hiring preference
Cal Fire must work with the prison system so eligible people who finish firefighter training in prison get official written certification before release. Later, qualified formerly incarcerated people get hiring preference for Fire Fighter 1 jobs, and their crew time counts toward Forestry Technician requirements.
Police must let paramedics ask to blur patients in body camera footage
Every law enforcement agency with a body camera policy must add a way for emergency medical personnel to ask, before any public release, that recordings of patients being treated be redacted, for example by blurring or muting. Agencies keep an unredacted copy.
January 2028 3
People 80 and older can get a permanent jury excuse without a doctor's note
A person 80 or older with a medical impairment may be permanently excused from jury service by sending the jury commissioner a written statement, without a letter from a health care provider. The court must grant the excuse once the statement is received.
Police and prosecutors must tell crime victims about immigration relief options
Police and prosecutors must tell crime victims, or their next of kin or parents, about immigration relief they may qualify for, such as U and T visas, and give them a rights and resources card. The Attorney General designs the card in several languages.
Public defense contracts must meet new standards, with flat fees banned in top cases
County and court contracts for appointed defense lawyers must meet set standards, including separate money for investigators and other defense services. Flat-fee and per-case pay is banned in cases carrying a possible sentence of death or life without parole.